Information processing apparatus, system, information processing method, and program

ABSTRACT

Provided is an information processing apparatus including: a first information acquisition unit configured to acquire first information indicating behavior of at least one user; a second information acquisition unit configured to acquire second information on the at least one user, the second information being different from the first information; and a display control unit configured to display, in a display unit, a user object which is configured based on the first information and represents the corresponding at least one user and a virtual space which is configured based on the second information and in which the user object are arranged.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus, asystem, an information processing method, and a program.

BACKGROUND ART

In accordance with diffusion of social media, it has become common forusers to share their behavior via a network. For example, PatentLiterature 1 discloses a technology for reflecting, in postures ofobjects representing other users, actual behavior of the users, such aswalking, running, sitting, standing, and making a phone call in avirtual space displayed on a screen and expressing intimacy of a userwith the users and actual positions, characteristics of behavior, andtaste of the users by using display positions of the objects.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

-   Patent Literature 1: JP 2010-134802A

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

However, it cannot be said that, for example, the technology disclosedin Patent Literature 1 has been satisfactorily developed, and it can besaid that usability of a user interface and other aspects can be furtherimproved.

In view of this, the present disclosure proposes an informationprocessing apparatus, a system, an information processing method, and aprogram, each of which is new and improved and is capable of providing auser interface that can be used more easily in the case where usersshare their behavior information via user objects displayed in a virtualspace.

Solution to Problem

According to the present disclosure, there is provided an informationprocessing apparatus including: a first information acquisition unitconfigured to acquire first information indicating behavior of at leastone user; a second information acquisition unit configured to acquiresecond information on the at least one user, the second informationbeing different from the first information; and a display control unitconfigured to display, in a display unit, a user object which isconfigured based on the first information and represents thecorresponding at least one user and a virtual space which is configuredbased on the second information and in which the user object arearranged.

According to the present disclosure, there is provided a systemincluding: a terminal apparatus; and one or more server devicesconfigured to provide a service to the terminal apparatus. The systemprovides, by cooperating the terminal apparatus with the one or moreserver devices, a function for acquiring first information indicatingbehavior of at least one user, a function for acquiring secondinformation on the at least one user, the second information beingdifferent from the first information, and a function for displaying, ina display unit, a user object which is configured based on the firstinformation and represents the corresponding at least one user, and avirtual space which is configured based on the second information and inwhich the user object is arranged.

According to the present disclosure, there is provided an informationprocessing method including: acquiring first information indicatingbehavior of at least one user; acquiring second information on the atleast one user, the second information being different from the firstinformation; and displaying, in a display unit, a user object which isconfigured based on the first information and represents thecorresponding at least one user, and a virtual space which is configuredbased on the second information and in which the user object isarranged.

According to the present disclosure, there is provided a program causinga computer to realize a function for acquiring first informationindicating behavior of at least one user, a function for acquiringsecond information on the at least one user, the second informationbeing different from the first information, and a function fordisplaying, in a display unit, a user object which is configured basedon the first information and represents the corresponding at least oneuser, and a virtual space which is configured based on the secondinformation and in which the user object is arranged.

In the above configurations, the behavior of the users is reflected inthe respective user objects, and the virtual space in which the userobjects are arranged is configured based on some information of theusers. With this, for example, attributes or characteristics of thebehavior of the users displayed as the user objects can be grasped basedon the virtual space serving as a background of the user objects. Thisimproves usability of a user interface for sharing behavior informationof the users via the user objects.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

As described above, according to the present disclosure, it is possibleto provide a user interface that can be used more easily in the casewhere users share their behavior information via user objects displayedin a virtual space.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing Embodiment 1 of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing Embodiment 2 of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing Embodiment 3 of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating behavior information sharing in someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a display example for the behaviorinformation sharing illustrated in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating behavior status display in someembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating an example of collective selection in anexample of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a first example of setting of a virtualspace in some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a view illustrating a second example of setting of a virtualspace in some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a view illustrating a third example of setting of a virtualspace in some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a view illustrating an example of operation of a virtualspace in some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12A is a view illustrating a first example of operation performedon an object in some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12B is a view illustrating a second example of operation performedon an object in some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13A is a view illustrating a third example of operation performedon an object in some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13B is a view illustrating a third example of operation performedon an object in some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 is a view illustrating outline of grouping operation of a userin some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 15 is a view illustrating a first example of recommended groupdisplay in the grouping operation of the user illustrated in FIG. 14.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating processing of the exampleillustrated in FIG. 15.

FIG. 17 is a view illustrating a second example of recommended groupdisplay in the grouping operation of the user illustrated in FIG. 14.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating processing of the exampleillustrated in FIG. 17.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of aninformation processing apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, (a) preferred embodiment(s) of the present disclosure willbe described in detail with reference to the appended drawings. Notethat, in this specification and the drawings, elements that havesubstantially the same function and structure are denoted with the samereference signs, and repeated explanation is omitted.

Note that description will be provided in the following order.

1. Examples of embodiments

-   -   1-1. Embodiment 1    -   1-2. Embodiment 2    -   1-3. Embodiment 3

2. Behavior information sharing

3. Behavior status display

4. Setting of virtual space

5. Operation performed on object

6. Grouping of user

7. Hardware configuration

8. Supplement

1. Examples of Embodiments

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, examples of embodiments of the presentdisclosure will be described.

1-1. Embodiment 1

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing Embodiment 1 of thepresent disclosure. With reference to FIG. 1, a system 10 according tothis embodiment includes a terminal apparatus 100 and a server 200. Theterminal apparatus 100 is a terminal apparatus carried by a user, suchas a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a portable game console, and aportable media player, and can be realized by, for example, a hardwareconfiguration of an information processing apparatus described below.The server 200 communicates with one or more terminal apparatuses 100via various wired or wireless networks and provides various services tothe terminal apparatuses 100. The server 200 is realized by a singleserver device or a plurality of server devices that are connected witheach other via a network to cooperate with each other. The server devicecan be realized by, for example, the hardware configuration of theinformation processing apparatus described below.

(Terminal Apparatus)

The terminal apparatus 100 includes, as a functional configuration, asensor 110, a behavior recognition unit 120, a communication unit 130, acontrol unit 140, and a user interface (UI) 150.

The sensor 110 is any of various sensors such as an acceleration sensor,a gyro sensor, a magnetic field sensor, an optical sensor, a soundsensor, and a pressure sensor and detects acceleration, a posture, adirection, and a surrounding environment, and the like of a user of theterminal apparatus 100. The sensor 110 may include positioning meanssuch as a GPS sensor or a Wi-Fi communication unit for acquiringposition information of the user.

The behavior recognition unit 120 is realized by software in such a waythat a processor such as a CPU operates in accordance with a program.Note that a functional configuration, such as the behavior recognitionunit 120, which is described to be realized by software in the presentspecification, may be realized by a processing circuit such as anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The behavior recognitionunit 120 recognizes behavior of the user of the terminal apparatus 100on the basis of a detection result of the sensor 110 and acquiresinformation (behavior information) indicating the behavior of the user.For example, the behavior recognition unit 120 may recognize whether auser is stopping, walking, or running on the basis of a detection resultof acceleration or the like. Further, the behavior recognition unit 120may recognize more advanced behavior, i.e., for example, may recognizewhether a user is working, stays at home, or is shopping by combining adetection result of acceleration or the like with position informationof the user. The behavior recognition unit 120 transmits the informationindicating the recognized behavior of the user to the server 200. Thebehavior recognition unit 120 may also provide the informationindicating the behavior of the user to the control unit 140.

The communication unit 130 is realized by, for example, various wired orwireless communication devices. The communication unit 130 receivesbehavior information of at least one user from the server 200. Herein,the users whose behavior information is received may include the user ofthe terminal apparatus 100 or may include at least one user (otherusers) other than the user of the terminal apparatus 100. The behaviorinformation of other users can be acquired by, for example, sensors 110and behavior recognition units 120 of other terminal apparatuses 100 andbe transmitted to the server 200. Further, as described below, thecommunication unit 130 may receive, from the server 200, informationdifferent from the behavior information such as information indicatingan attribute of each user or information obtained by performingstatistical processing on the behavior information of each user. Thecommunication unit 130 provides the received information to the controlunit 140.

The control unit 140 is realized by software in such a way that aprocessor such as a CPU operates in accordance with a program. Thecontrol unit 140 displays an image in a display unit included in the UI150 on the basis of the information acquired from the communication unit130. Note that, in the present specification, the image includes a stillimage and a moving image. The control unit 140 may output audio from aspeaker or the like included in the UI 150 on the basis of theinformation acquired from the communication unit 130. The imagedisplayed by the control unit 140 in the UI 150 includes a user objectand a virtual space in which the user object is arranged. Further, thecontrol unit 140 may acquire operation performed by a user via anoperation unit included in the UI 150 and may change the image to bedisplayed on the basis of the operation. Furthermore, the control unit140 may execute operation with respect to a user displayed as a userobject, such as grouping or the like of the user, on the basis of theoperation performed by the user. Moreover, the control unit 140 mayspecify a behavior status on the basis of behavior information of eachuser and reflect the behavior status in each user object.

Herein, the user object is an object representing each of at least oneuser and is configured based on the behavior information of each userreceived by the communication unit 130 and/or the behavior informationprovided from the behavior recognition unit 120. That is, the userobject is displayed for a user whose behavior information is provided.Note that it is unnecessary to display all user objects of users whosebehavior information is provided, and only a user specified by the userof the terminal apparatus 100, such as a user classified in a specificgroup, may be displayed.

Meanwhile, the virtual space is configured based on informationdifferent from the behavior information. This information may be, forexample, information indicating an attribute of each user or informationobtained by performing statistical processing on the behaviorinformation of each user. The control unit 140 configures an image to bedisplayed as the virtual space that is common to the user objects by,for example, combining the above information of each of the usersdisplayed as the user objects. The image to be displayed as the virtualspace may be selected from, for example, images that have been set inadvance or may be newly generated by converting a numerical valueextracted from information on each user in accordance with apredetermined rule.

The UI 150 is realized by, for example, the display unit (output device)that displays an image such as a display and the operation unit (inputdevice) that acquires operation performed by a user on the displayedimage, such as a touch panel or a mouse. The UI 150 displays an image inaccordance with control of the control unit 140 and provides, to thecontrol unit 140, information indicating operation performed by a useron the displayed image. The output device included in the UI 150 mayfurther include an audio output unit such as a speaker.

(Server)

The server 200 includes, as a functional configuration, an applicationserver 210 and a database (DB) 220.

The application server 210 is realized by software in such a way that aprocessor such as a CPU operates in accordance with a program. Theapplication server 210 executes various kinds of calculation forproviding an application service to the terminal apparatus 100 whilereferring to the DB 220.

For example, the application server 210 accumulates, in the DB 220,information indicating behavior of a user received from the terminalapparatus 100 and transmits the accumulated information to the terminalapparatus 100 as necessary. By such processing, for example, informationindicating behavior of a plurality of users recognized in the terminalapparatuses 100 used by the respective users is collected in the DB 220.In response to a request from the user through the terminal apparatus100, the application server 210 reads information indicating behavior ofanother user from the DB 220 to transmit the information to the terminalapparatus 100. This makes it possible that the users share behaviorinformation.

The application server 210 acquires information (information differentfrom behavior information) used for configuring the virtual space in thecontrol unit 140 of the terminal apparatus 100 to transmit theinformation to the terminal apparatus 100. For example, the applicationserver 210 may collect profile information (information indicatingattribute of user) registered by each user in the DB 220 and transmitthe profile information to the terminal apparatus 100 as necessary.Further, the application server 210 may execute statistical processingwith respect to the behavior information of the user accumulated in theDB 220 and transmit information obtained by the processing, such as abehavior pattern of the user, to the terminal apparatus 100.

The DB 220 is realized by, for example, a storage device and storesvarious kinds of information to be processed by the application server210. For example, the DB 220 stores the behavior information of eachuser received by the application server 210 from the terminal apparatus100. The DB 220 may store the information indicating the attribute ofeach user acquired by the application server 210 and the informationgenerated by the application server 210 performing the statisticalprocessing on the behavior information of each user.

In Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure described above, for example,the communication unit 130 functions as a first information acquisitionunit that acquires behavior information of a user (in the case wherebehavior information of a user him/herself of the terminal apparatus 100is internally acquired, the behavior recognition unit 120 also functionsas the first information acquisition unit). The communication unit 130also functions as a second information acquisition unit that acquiresinformation on the user different from the behavior information (forexample, attribute information or information obtained by performingstatistical processing on behavior information). The control unit 140functions as a display control unit that displays a user object, whichis configured based on the behavior information and represents eachuser, and a virtual space, which is configured based on the informationdifferent from the behavior information and in which the user object isarranged, in the display unit included in the UI 150. Therefore, it canbe also said that the terminal apparatus 100 is an informationprocessing apparatus including those constituent elements.

In the above description, Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure hasbeen described. Note that the above is schematic description, and theterminal apparatus 100 and the server 200 can further include afunctional configuration other than the functional configurations shownin FIG. 1. For example, the terminal apparatus 100 may further include adatabase and may hold a cache of the information stored in the DB 220 ofthe server 200. With this, for example, behavior information for use indisplay of an image including a user object in the terminal apparatus100, such as behavior information of a friend of a user of the terminalapparatus 100, is held in the terminal apparatus 100, and therefore itis unnecessary to receive the behavior information from the server 200every time when the image including the user object is displayed. Inthis case, the behavior information stored in the database of theterminal apparatus 100 can be subjected to incremental update by theapplication server 210 of the server 200 referring to the behaviorinformation stored in the DB 220.

Further, in the above example, although a terminal apparatus thatprovides behavior information of a user to the server and a terminalapparatus that displays an image including a user object on the basis ofinformation such as the behavior information collected in the server arethe same, those terminal apparatuses can be independently configured asa modification example. For example, a function of the above terminalapparatus 100 may be realized by the following dispersed terminals: asensor log terminal 100 a that includes the sensor 110 and the behaviorrecognition unit 120 and acquires sensing data to recognize behavior ofa user and transmits behavior information to the server 200; and adisplay terminal 100 b that includes the communication unit 130, thecontrol unit 140, and the UI 150 and displays an image including a userobject on the basis of information received from the server 200. In thiscase, the display terminal 100 b is not necessarily a terminal apparatuscarried by a user, and may be, for example, a stationary PC, television,or game console.

Because behavior recognition is executed and behavior information of auser is generated in the terminal apparatus 300, this embodiment has anadvantage in protecting privacy of the behavior information. Forexample, a user may select whether to transmit behavior informationobtained as a result of behavior recognition to the server. This makesit possible that, for example, the user keeps behavior information thatthe user does not want to share in the terminal apparatus 100 withouttransmitting the behavior information to the server 200.

1-2. Embodiment 2

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating Embodiment 2 of thepresent disclosure. With reference to FIG. 2, a system 30 according tothis embodiment includes a terminal apparatus 300 and a server 400. Theterminal apparatus 300 is a terminal apparatus carried by a user, suchas a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a portable game console, and aportable media player, and can be realized by, for example, a hardwareconfiguration of an information processing apparatus described below.The server 400 communicates with one or more terminal apparatuses 300via various wired or wireless networks and provides various services tothe terminal apparatuses 300. The server 400 is realized by a singleserver device or a plurality of server devices that are connected witheach other via a network to cooperate with each other. The server devicecan be realized by, for example, the hardware configuration of theinformation processing apparatus described below.

In this embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the terminal apparatus 300includes, as a functional configuration, a sensor 110, a communicationunit 130, a control unit 140, and a UI 150, and the server 400 includes,as a functional configuration, a behavior recognition unit 120, anapplication server 210, and a DB 220. This embodiment is different fromEmbodiment 1 described above in that the behavior recognition unit 120is not included in the terminal apparatus 300 but is included in theserver 400. Therefore, each terminal apparatus 300 transmits a detectionresult of the sensor 110 to the server 400 and the server 400 recognizesbehavior of each user on the basis of the detection result of the sensor110 received from each terminal apparatus 300.

Note that details of each functional configuration are similar to thosein Embodiment 1 described above, and therefore repeated description willbe omitted. Also in this embodiment, as a modification example, aterminal apparatus that provides sensing data of a user to the serverand a terminal apparatus that displays an image including a user objecton the basis of information such as behavior information collected inthe server can be independently configured. For example, a function ofthe above terminal apparatus 300 may be realized by the followingdispersed terminals: a sensor log terminal 300 a that includes thesensor 110 and acquires sensing data and provides the sensing data tothe server 400; and a display terminal 300 b that includes thecommunication unit 130, the control unit 140, and the UI 150 anddisplays an image including a user object on the basis of informationreceived from the server 400. In this case, the display terminal 300 bis not necessarily a terminal apparatus carried by a user, and may be,for example, a stationary PC, television, or game console.

Also in Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure described above, forexample, the communication unit 130 functions as a first informationacquisition unit that acquires behavior information of a user and alsoas a second information acquisition unit that acquires information onthe user different from the behavior information. The control unit 140functions as a display control unit that displays a user object, whichis configured based on the behavior information and represents eachuser, and a virtual space, which is configured based on the informationdifferent from the behavior information and in which the user object isarranged, in a display unit included in the UI 150. Therefore, it can bealso said that the terminal apparatus 300 is an information processingapparatus including those constituent elements.

As compared to Embodiment 1 described above, this embodiment has anadvantage in reducing power consumption of the terminal apparatus 300because the terminal apparatus 300 does not need to execute calculationfor behavior recognition. Further, in the case where the sensor logterminal 300 a is independently provided as described in themodification example, a processing circuit such as a processor forbehavior recognition is not needed, and therefore it is possible toreduce a size and a weight of the sensor log terminal 300 a and alsoreduce power consumption thereof.

1-3. Embodiment 3

FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically illustrating Embodiment 3 of thepresent disclosure. With reference to FIG. 3, a system 50 according tothis embodiment includes a terminal apparatus 500 and a server 600. Theterminal apparatus 500 is a terminal apparatus carried by a user, suchas a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a portable game console, and aportable media player, and can be realized by, for example, a hardwareconfiguration of an information processing apparatus described below.The server 600 communicates with one or more terminal apparatuses 500via various wired or wireless networks and provides various services tothe terminal apparatuses 500. The server 600 is realized by a singleserver device or a plurality of server devices that are connected witheach other via a network to cooperate with each other. The server devicecan be realized by, for example, the hardware configuration of theinformation processing apparatus described below.

In this embodiment, as described in FIG. 3, the terminal apparatus 500includes, as a functional configuration, a sensor 110, a communicationunit 530, and a UI 150, and the server 600 includes, as a functionalconfiguration, a behavior recognition unit 120, a control unit 140, anapplication server 210, and a DB 220. This embodiment is different fromEmbodiments 1 and 2 described above in that the server 600 includes thecontrol unit 140 in addition to the behavior recognition unit 120.Therefore, each terminal apparatus 500 transmits a detection result ofthe sensor 110 to the server 600 and receives data of an image includinga user object generated in the server 600 to display the image on the UI150.

The communication unit 530 is realized by, for example, various wired orwireless communication devices. The communication unit 530 receives thedata of the image including the user object including the user objectfrom the server 600. The image including the user object is generatedbased on behavior information and other information in the control unit140 included in the server 600. Further, the communication unit 530 mayacquire information indicating operation performed by a user on theimage including the user object from the UI 150 and transmit theinformation to the server 600 so that the control unit 140 can changethe image including the user object on the basis of the operation.

Note that details of each functional configuration other than thecommunication unit 530 are similar to those in Embodiment 1 describedabove, and therefore repeated description will be omitted. Also in thisembodiment, as a modification example, a terminal apparatus thatprovides sensing data of a user to the server and a terminal apparatusthat receives data of an image including a user object from the serverto display the data can be independently configured. For example, afunction of the above terminal apparatus 500 may be realized by thefollowing dispersed terminals: a sensor log terminal 500 a that includesthe sensor 110 and acquires sensing data and provides the sensing datato the server 600; and a display terminal 500 b that includes thecommunication unit 530 and the UI 150 and displays an image including auser object by use of data received from the server 600. In this case,the display terminal 500 b is not necessarily a terminal apparatuscarried by a user, and may be, for example, a stationary PC, television,or game console.

In Embodiment 3 of the present disclosure described above, for example,the behavior recognition unit 120 and the application server 210function as a first information acquisition unit that acquires behaviorinformation of a user. The application server 210 also functions as asecond information acquisition unit that reads, from the DB 220,attribute information that is additionally provided and acquiresinformation on the user different from the behavior information byperforming statistical processing on the behavior information. Thecontrol unit 140 functions as a display control unit that displays auser object, which is configured based on the behavior information andrepresents each user, and a virtual space, which is configured based onthe information different from the behavior information and in which theuser object is arranged, in a display unit included in the UI 150 of theterminal apparatus 500 via the communication unit 530. Therefore, it canbe also said that the server 600 is an information processing apparatusincluding those constituent elements.

As compared to Embodiments 1 and 2 described above, this embodiment isthe most advantageous in terms of power consumption of the terminalapparatus 500 because the terminal apparatus 500 does not need toexecute even calculation for generating the image including the userobject. Meanwhile, in this embodiment, because the image including theuser object is generated in the server 600, the server 600 grasps notonly the behavior information of the user but also an operation state inthe UI 150. Therefore, the above two embodiments can have an advantageover this embodiment in terms of privacy.

As described above, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, it ispossible to employ various variations regarding which part in the systemeach functional configuration is arranged. As a matter of course,examples of such variations are not limited to the above three examplesand the modification examples thereof.

2. Behavior Information Sharing

With reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, behavior information sharing insome embodiments of the present disclosure will be described. In, forexample, each embodiment described above, behavior information of eachuser is shared via a user object displayed by the control unit 140. Inthe following description, such behavior information sharing includingexamples of data to be referred, a screen to be displayed, and the likewill be described more specifically.

Note that, in the following description, a “behavior status” isinformation indicating behavior of a user classified based on apredetermined reference. For example, in the following description,“resting”, “running”, “moving by vehicle”, and the like will beexemplified as the behavior status, but other various behavior statusescan be set. Granularity of the behavior status can be changed dependingon, for example, the kind of virtual space 1013 in some cases. Forexample, behavior statuses of “moving by vehicle”, “moving by bus”, and“moving by train” may be integrated and displayed as a single behaviorstatus of “moving” in some cases. In the following description, a“behavior log” is information indicating a history of behavior of a userin the past. In some examples, the behavior log can be a history of thebehavior status.

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating behavior information sharing in someembodiments of the present disclosure. With reference to FIG. 4, a useruses a client application 1001 provided in a terminal apparatus to login social media 1003. The social media 1003 provides a sharing list 1005regarding the user who has logged in. The sharing list 1005 is providedfrom the server that provides the social media 1003 to, for example, thecontrol unit 140 in the embodiments described above. Note that, althoughthe sharing list is provided from the social media in the example ofFIG. 4, the sharing list may be provided by a member other than thesocial media in another example of the present disclosure. For example,a sharing list shared by friends may be prepared in such a way that auser and another user who is a user's friend directly exchange IDs.

Meanwhile, the client application 1001 controls a behavior recognitionunit 1007 of the terminal apparatus or the server to cause the behaviorrecognition unit 1007 to provide behavior information of a user to abehavior information DB 1009. A plurality of users use the clientapplications 1001 to log in the social media 1003, and thereforebehavior information of the users are collected in the behaviorinformation DB 1009.

In the case where a user and another user share behavior information,in, for example, the embodiments described above, the control unit 140may display a list 1011 of other users whose behavior information can beshared in the UI 150 in accordance with the sharing list 1005 and thendisplay, in the virtual space 1013, a user object 1015 showing abehavior status of a user selected from the list 1011. Note that aspecific display example of the virtual space 1013 and the user object1015 will be described below.

Herein, in order to display the user object 1015, the control unit 140acquires the behavior information of the user from the behaviorinformation DB 1009. At this time, whether or not the behaviorinformation of the user can be provided may be determined by referringto the sharing list 1005. A plurality of virtual spaces 1013 may be setfor respective groups in which users are classified and the virtualspaces 1013 may be switched and displayed. In the example of FIG. 4,three virtual spaces 1013 a, 1013 b, and 1013 c are set. Granularity of,for example, a behavior status that is set based on behavior informationmay be different among the virtual spaces 1013 a, 1013 b, and 1013 c.

A user can refer to behavior log display 1017 of another user byselecting the user object 1015 displayed in the virtual space 1013 inthe UI 150. The behavior log display 1017 is, for example, display of abehavior log of a target user expressed by a graph showing a ratio ofbehavior performed by the target user that day and a behavior pattern ofthe user in the past. The behavior log display 1017 can be generatedbased on a behavior log 1019 of the target user acquired from thebehavior information DB 1009.

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a display example for the behaviorinformation sharing illustrated in FIG. 4. As illustrated in FIG. 5, thelist 1011 is a list including information 1021 of each user as anelement. In the information 1021 of each user, for example, a thumbnailimage, a user name, an ID in the social media, and a behavior status aredisplayed as text, and a user object 1023 showing the behavior statusmay be displayed. Note that the user object 1023 and the user object1015 displayed in the virtual space 1013 may be a common object. In thecase where a user does not log in the social media 1003 or in the casewhere the user has logged in but behavior thereof is not recognized, thebehavior status is not specified, and therefore there is a possibilitythat the text of the behavior status and the user object 1023 are notdisplayed in the information 1021 of each user.

Meanwhile, the virtual space 1013 is a space in which the user object1015 representing each user is arranged. The user object 1015 shows thebehavior status of each user by using a posture or a display positionthereof. Therefore, there is a possibility that the user object 1015, aswell as the user object 1023 in the list 1011, is not displayed in thecase where the behavior status of the user is not specified. Further, asdescribed below, the virtual space 1013 in which the user object 1015 isarranged is changed in accordance with, for example, an attribute, abehavior pattern, and the like of each user.

By selecting the information 1021 of each user displayed in the list1011 or the user object 1015 of each user displayed in the virtual space1013, it is possible to display the behavior log display 1017 of theuser. FIG. 5 illustrates a behavior statistics display 1017 a and acomment timeline display 1017 b as two examples of the behavior logdisplay 1017. The behavior statistics display 1017 a is a displayshowing a result of statistical analysis of a behavior log of a targetuser and can include, for example, a graph showing a ratio of a behaviorstatus of the user of a day and ranking display obtained by comparing anamount of specific behavior (a length of time spent walking, the numberof steps, a length of time spent riding a train, and the like) of a userwith that of another user. The comment timeline display 1017 b displaysa timeline of comments posted by the target user and displays a behaviorstatus of the user at the time of posting each of the comments.

Herein, as described above, in the list 1011 and the virtual space 1013,a user him/herself of the terminal apparatus is displayed as theinformation 1021 or the user object 1015. By selecting them, it is alsopossible to display the user's own behavior log display 1017. In theuser's own behavior log display 1017, all items can be basicallydisplayed. Meanwhile, in the behavior log display 1017 of other users,an item that is permitted to be open by each user can be limitedlydisplayed. That is, a behavior log that is set to be closed by each useron the basis of, for example, the kind of behavior or a time period isnot reflected in the behavior log display 1017.

A range of the behavior log displayed as the behavior log display 1017and a method of displaying the behavior log in the behavior log display1017 may be changed in accordance with a current behavior status of thetarget user. For example, in the case where the user is currentlymoving, only a behavior log regarding moving such as walking, a train,and a bus may be reflected in the behavior log display 1017.Alternatively, in the case where the user is currently working in anoffice, only a behavior log in the office may be reflected in thebehavior log display 1017.

3. Behavior Status Display

With reference to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, behavior status display in someembodiments of the present disclosure will be described. In the behaviorinformation sharing described above, the behavior status of each user isshared by displaying the user object 1015 showing the behavior status ofeach user in the virtual space 1013. In the following description,display of the behavior status will be described more specifically.

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating behavior status display in someembodiments of the present disclosure. In the example of FIG. 6, userobjects 1015 a to 1015 g are displayed in the virtual space 1013.

(Expression Using User Object Itself)

As illustrated in the example of FIG. 6, each user object 1015 mayexpress a behavior status of a corresponding user by using a posture(shape) or a motion thereof. For example, the user object 1015 a isdisplayed in a sitting posture, which indicates that the behavior statusof the user is “resting”. The user objects 1015 c and 1015 e aredisplayed in a running posture and the user objects are actuallyrunning, which indicates that the behavior statuses of the users are“running”. The user object 1015 f is displayed in a posture holding abook, which indicates that the behavior status of the user is “reading”.The user object 1015 g is displayed as a standstill posture, whichindicates that the behavior status of the user is “stopping”.

(Expression Using Relationship with Another Object)

The user object 1015 may express a behavior status of a correspondinguser by using another object (container object) displayed as a containerthereof. For example, the user object 1015 b is displayed in a containerobject 1016 a of a vehicle running on a road, which indicates that thebehavior status of the user is “moving by vehicle”. The user object 1015d is displayed in a container object 1016 b of a bus running on theroad, which indicates that the behavior status of the user is “moving bybus”.

Herein, the container object 1016 arranged in the virtual space 1013 isdisplayed based on, for example, a behavior pattern of a user displayedas the user object 1015 in the virtual space 1013 and can be displayedeven in the case where a user who has a behavior status corresponding tothe container object 1016 does not exist. For example, in the example ofFIG. 6, a container object 1016 c of a bench for indicating that a usersits is displayed, but a user object sitting on the bench is notdisplayed.

The number or a size of other objects displayed in association with theuser object 1015 may be changed in accordance with the number ofassociated user objects 1015. For example, in the example of FIG. 6, inthe case where the number of the user objects 1015 representing usersriding a vehicle is increased, another vehicle may be additionallydisplayed. Further, in the example of FIG. 6, in the case where thenumber of the user objects 1015 representing users riding a bus isincreased, a size of the bus may be increased. Further, the containerobject 1016 may be used as an operation element for, by selecting thecontainer object 1016, collectively selecting users having the behaviorstatus corresponding to the selected container object 1016. For example,as illustrated in FIG. 7, in the example of FIG. 6, in the case wherethe container object 1016 b of the bus that is displayed in the virtualspace 1013 in order to indicate that users ride on a bus is selected,all the users riding on the bus are collectively selected. The users whoare collectively selected can be displayed as the list 1011 asillustrated in, for example, FIG. 7 or be set as a transmissiondestination of a message. Similar operation can be applied to, forexample, the container object 1016 of the vehicle or the bench displayedin the virtual space 1013.

(Arrangement of User Object Corresponding to Behavior Status)

Arrangement of the user objects 1015 in the virtual space 1013 isdetermined in accordance with the behavior statuses expressed by therespective user objects 1015. In the example of FIG. 6, the user objects1015 b and 1015 d corresponding to the users moving by vehicle or busare arranged on the road drawn in the virtual space 1013. The userobject 1015 a corresponding to the resting user is arranged in a cafedrawn in the virtual space 1013. In the example of FIG. 6, thearrangement of each user object can be determined, for example,regardless of actual position information of each user. Therefore, forexample, a plurality of users riding buses in different places can beexpressed as the plurality of user objects 1015 riding the same bus.

Meanwhile, as to the user objects 1015 c and 1015 e corresponding to therunning users, the user object 1015 c is arranged in a park on a frontside and the user object 1015 e is arranged in a crosswalk on a deepside. This arrangement can indicate that the user corresponding to theuser object 1015 c runs in a place other than a road such as a park andthe user corresponding to the user object 1015 e runs on a road or asidewalk. Thus, the arrangement of the user objects 1015 may reflect notonly the behavior statuses expressed by the respective user objects 1015but also the position information and the like of the users. Note that,in the example of FIG. 6, the kinds of positions of the users arereflected in the arrangement of the user objects 1015. Therefore, a userrunning on a road can be arranged on a crosswalk same as that of theuser object 1015 e regardless of on which road the user runs, and a userrunning in a place other than a road can be arranged in a park same asthat of the user object 1015 c regardless of whether or not the place ispark. As another example, the user object 1015 representing a usertaking an elevator may be arranged in a building displayed in thevirtual space 1013.

In the above example, the number or a size of background objects, suchas a road, a cafe, a park, a crosswalk, and a building, arranged in thevirtual space 1013 may be changed in accordance with the number of theuser objects 1015 arranged therein. For example, in the example of FIG.6, in the case where the number of the user objects 1015 representingusers moving by vehicle or bus becomes a predetermined number or more, awidth of the road displayed in the virtual space 1013 may be increased.Further, for example, the number of the user objects 1015 representingusers taking an elevator becomes a predetermined number or more, anotherbuilding may be additionally displayed in the virtual space 1013.

4. Setting of Virtual Space

With reference to FIG. 8 to FIG. 11, setting of a virtual space in someembodiments of the present disclosure will be described. In the behaviorinformation sharing described above, the behavior status of each user isshared by displaying the user object 1015 in which the behavior statusof each user is reflected in the virtual space 1013. In the followingdescription, setting of the virtual space 1013 in this case will bedescribed more specifically.

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a first example of setting of a virtualspace in some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example ofFIG. 8, as the virtual space 1013 in which the user object 1015representing a user classified in a group A is arranged, a virtual space(“Bookstore” town view) 1013 p shaped like a bookstore is set. This isbased on a characteristic in which, in profile information 1025 aadditionally provided from each user, each user classified in the groupA has a high “Book Score” (set to 0 to 100) that is set based on apurchase history of books and the like.

FIG. 9 is a view illustrating a second example of setting of a virtualspace in some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example ofFIG. 9, as the virtual space 1013 in which the user object 1015representing a user classified in a group B is arranged, a virtual space(“young & student” town view) 1013 q shaped like a school route is set.This is based on the fact that, in profile information 1025 badditionally provided from each user, each user classified in the groupB is in their late teens to early twenties and their occupation is acollege student or a high school student.

FIG. 10 is a view illustrating a third example of setting of a virtualspace in some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example ofFIG. 10, as the virtual space 1013 in which the user object 1015representing a user classified in a group C is displayed, the virtualspace (“Bookstore” town view) 1013 p shaped like a bookstore is set,which is similar to the above first example. This can be based on thefact that, in an average behavior pattern extracted based on a behaviorlog, each user shares a characteristic in which a ratio of behavior“reading” is relatively high.

As described in the three examples described above, in some embodimentsof the present disclosure, the virtual space 1013 serving as abackground of the user object 1015 in an image including a user objectis configured based on information (second information) different frombehavior information (first information) of a user used for configuringthe user object 1015. The virtual space 1013 can be configured based ona result of combination of the second information on users (for example,a result of various kinds of clustering including an average value, anintermediate value, and the like). In this case, the user objects 1015representing the users can be arranged in the common virtual space 1013.Note that the image displayed as the virtual space 1013 may be selectedfrom, for example, images that have been set in advance or may be newlygenerated by converting numerical values extracted from information onthe users in accordance with a predetermined rule.

For example, in the above examples of FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the virtualspace 1013 is configured based on the profile information 1025 of eachuser. The profile information 1025 is an example of informationindicating an attribute of a user and is generated based on, forexample, age, occupation, a product purchase history, or the like of theuser. As a matter of course, the profile information may be generatedbased on information other than the age, the occupation, and the productpurchase history, and the virtual space 1013 may be configured based oninformation other than the profile information.

For example, in the above example of FIG. 10, the virtual space 1013 isconfigured based on information indicating a behavior pattern of eachuser. The information indicating the behavior pattern is an example ofinformation obtained by performing statistical processing on behaviorinformation of the user. The behavior pattern of the user is extractedin such a way that, for example, the application server 210 described inEmbodiments 1 to 3 performs statistical processing on the behaviorinformation of the user accumulated in the DB 220. Note that, asprocessing for extracting the behavior pattern, a publicly knowntechnology described in, for example, JP 2011-81431A can be used, andtherefore detailed description thereof will be herein omitted.

Further, in the example of FIG. 10, a part or all of the virtual space1013 set for the group C may be changed with time by reflecting abehavior pattern that is common to the users classified in the group C.For example, in the example of FIG. 10, the behavior patterns of theusers have common reading time at around 22:00. Based on this, forexample, the regular virtual space 1013 may be changed to the virtualspace 1013 p shaped like a bookstore only between 21:30 to 23:00.Alternatively, in the virtual space 1013, display of each user object1015 may be changed so that the user object 1015 possesses an object ofa book only between 21:30 to 23:00.

FIG. 11 is a view illustrating an example of operation of a virtualspace in some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example ofFIG. 11, user objects 1015 p and 1015 q representing users P and Q aredisplayed in the virtual space 1013. The user P has a behavior patternwhich is taking a bus at 8:00 every day. Meanwhile, the user Q has abehavior pattern which is taking a bus at 9:00 every day. Correspondingto this, a bus 1027 a and a bus 1027 b are displayed at 8:00 and 9:00,respectively, in the virtual space 1013. The bus 1027 can be displayedas the container object 1016 in the above example of FIG. 6. In the casewhere a behavior status of the user P indicates that the user P ridesthe bus as usual, the user object 1015 p representing the user P ridesthe bus 1027 a. Similarly, in the case where a behavior status of theuser Q indicates that the user Q rides the bus as usual, the user object1015 q representing the user Q rides the bus 1027 b.

Herein, the bus 1027 a and the bus 1027 b displayed in the virtual space1013 may be displayed, regardless of whether or not the users P and Qride the buses. More specifically, in the virtual space 1013, the bus1027 a may be operated at 8:00 every day and the bus 1027 b may beoperated at 9:00. In this case, for example, in the case where the userP does not ride the bus at 8:00 because the user P takes a vacation orthe like, the user object 1015 p representing the user P is displayed asanother posture in another place in accordance with the behavior statusof the user P at that time, whereas the bus 1027 a is operated at 8:00as usual. Note that, because the user P does not ride the bus, no userobject rides the bus 1027 a.

Thus, by controlling display of the virtual space 1013 or an objectdisplayed in the virtual space 1013 on the basis of information such asa behavior pattern obtained by performing statistical processing onbehavior information of a user, a characteristic of behavior of the usercan be recognized based on the display of the virtual space 1013 withoutbeing influenced by temporary and irregular behavior of the user.

As application of such display, approach from a certain user to anotheruser may be performed. For example, there is a case where a plurality ofusers have behavior patterns (behavior may be the same or different) inthe same time period, such as a case where a user X has a behaviorpattern “jogging at evening on Saturdays” and a user Y has a behaviorpattern “riding a bicycle at evening on Saturdays”. In this case, in thecase where some of the plurality of users do not unexpectedly performbehavior in accordance with behavior patterns, another user mayencourage the users to perform the behavior. In the above example, inthe case where the user X is jogging but the user Y is not riding abicycle at evening on Saturday, the user object 1015 representing theuser X may encourage the user Y to ride the bicycle while jogging in thevirtual space 1013 displayed in a terminal apparatus of the user Y.

5. Operation Performed on Object

With reference to FIG. 12 and FIG. 13, operation performed on an objectin some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described. In thebehavior information sharing described above, operation performed oninformation of each user or each real user can be executed by operatingthe user object 1015 displayed in the virtual space 1013 in the userinterface. In the following description, operation performed on anobject in this case will be described more specifically.

FIG. 12A is a view illustrating a first example of operation performedon an object in some embodiments of the present disclosure. In theexample of FIG. 12A, a behavior status of a user is modified from“stopping” to “moving by vehicle” by moving the user object 1015displayed in a stopping state to a car 1027 c displayed in the virtualspace 1013 through operation such as drag & drop. Note that, also inthis example, display of the user object 1015 in the car 1027 cindicates that the user is moving by car, which is similar to theexample of FIG. 6. Thus, because an object (herein, car 1027 c)corresponding to a behavior status of a user is displayed in the virtualspace, modification operation of the behavior status can be executed bychanging arrangement of the user object 1015. A result of suchmodification operation may be used for study in, for example, behaviorrecognition. In the example of FIG. 6, it is similarly possible toperform operation, such as causing a user to ride a bus, causing a userto sit in a cafe, or causing a user to sit on a bench.

FIG. 12B is a view illustrating a second example of operation performedon an object in some embodiments of the present disclosure. In theexample of FIG. 12B, a door 1027 d appears when the user object 1015 ispressed for a long time. The user object 1015 is moved to the door 1027d by operation such as drag & drop, a user represented by the userobject 1015 is deleted from a user group corresponding to the virtualspace 1013 that is currently displayed. Thus, in the case wherepredetermined operation (herein, a long press) is executed with respectto the user object 1015, an object that has not been displayed in thevirtual space 1013 until then can be newly made to appear, and operationperformed on the user object 1015 or the user corresponding to the userobject 1015 may be executed by using the object.

FIG. 13A and FIG. 13B are views each of which illustrates a thirdexample of operation performed on an object in some embodiments of thepresent disclosure. In the examples of FIG. 13A and FIG. 13B, in thecase where contact is terminated after the user object 1015 is pressedfor a long time (without subsequently performing operation such asdrag), a dialog box 1029 appears. The dialog box 1029 displays operationthat can be executed with respect to a user in accordance with abehavior status of the user corresponding to the user object 1015 atthat time.

For example, in the case of the stopping user object 1015 illustrated inFIG. 13A, “message”, “vibration”, and “audio” are displayed in a dialogbox 1029 a. By selecting each operation displayed in the dialog box 1029a, a corresponding operation is executed with respect to a target user.For example, in the case where the “message” is selected, the screen ischanged to a transmission screen of a message to the target user. In thecase where the “vibration” is selected, vibration notification to thetarget user is executed. In the case where the “audio” is selected, anaudio telephone call with the target user is prepared.

Meanwhile, in the case of the user object 1015 which indicates that thecorresponding user is moving by car because the user object 1015 ridesthe car 1027 c as illustrated in FIG. 13B, “vibration” and “audio” aredisplayed in a dialog box 1029 b. In this example, it is difficult toread a text message or reply to the text message during moving by car,and therefore, regarding the user object 1015 riding the car 1027 c,“message” is not displayed in the dialog box 1029. Thus, in someembodiments of the present disclosure, operation executable via the userobject 1015 is filtered in accordance with the kind of behavior statusof a user expressed by the user object 1015.

Further, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, it is alsopossible to execute different kinds of operation with respect to a userrepresented by the user object 1015 on the basis of the kind ofoperation to select the user object 1015. For example, in the case wherethe user object 1015 is touched, display is changed to the log display1017. In the case where the user object 1015 is touched twice, thedisplay is changed to the message transmission screen. In the case wherethe user object 1015 is flicked toward a right side, the audio telephonecall is prepared. In the case of shaking a terminal apparatus whiletapping the user object 1015, vibration notification is executed withrespect to a target user.

Further, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, the kind ofoperation performed on a user represented by the user object 1015 may beautomatically selected when the user object 1015 is selected. Forexample, in the case where predetermined operation (for example, doubletap) is executed with respect to the user object 1015 and the userrepresented by the user object 1015 is a user him/herself who performsthe operation, posting a message to the social media is selected. In thecase where the user represented by the user object 1015 is a friend,message transmission to the user is selected. In the case where themessage transmission is performed and if a target user sits,transmission of a message with an image may be selected because it ispresumed that the user can take a long time to read a message. In thecase where the target user is moving by vehicle, vibration notificationmay be selected so as not to obstruct driving.

In a screen in which a behavior status of each user is displayed by useof the user object 1015 as illustrated in, for example, FIG. 6, a userobject representing a user who is suitable to communicate may beemphasized. In this case, for example, the user object 1015 of a user,which indicates that the user is operating a terminal on the basis ofbehavior information, may be blinked on and off, and a mark may bedisplayed on a user object of a user who has posted a message to thesocial media within the last 5 minutes.

6. Grouping of User

With reference to FIG. 14 to FIG. 18, grouping of a user in someembodiments of the present disclosure will be described. In the behaviorinformation sharing described above, the virtual space 1013 can bedisplayed for each group of users and the user objects 1015 representingthe users classified in each group can be arranged in each virtual space1013. In the following description, an example where grouping of a useris executed in a user interface including the virtual space 1013 will bedescribed more specifically.

FIG. 14 is a view illustrating outline of grouping operation of a userin some embodiments of the present disclosure. As described above withreference to, for example, FIG. 5, in the list 1011 that displays users,the user objects 1023 showing behavior statuses of the respective userscan be displayed. In the example of FIG. 14, users who can be groupedare displayed in the list 1011, and, by pressing, for a long time, theuser object 1023 of an arbitrary user among those users and flicking thescreen to a right or left side, the screen is switched to the virtualspace 1013 while the user object 1023 pressed for a long time remains.Then, by dropping the user object in this virtual space 1013, the userobject 1015 corresponding to the user is added to the virtual space1013. In addition to this, the user is classified in a groupcorresponding to the virtual space 1013.

At this time, a user object 1031 displayed while the screen is beingchanged may be the same as the user object 1023, may be the same as theuser object 1015, or may be different from the both. By further flickingthe screen to the right or left side after the screen is switched to thevirtual space 1013, still another virtual space 1013 may be displayedand the selected user may be classified in still another group.

As described above, the virtual space 1013 displayed in the UI 150 canbe changed for each a group in which the user is classified. Further, areference used when behavior of the user is classified and a behaviorstatus thereof is set may be changed for each virtual space 1013. Forexample, in the case where the virtual space 1013 corresponding to acertain group is a virtual space shaped like a bookstore (“Bookstore”town view), a behavior status regarding books may be classified in moredetail in comparison with another virtual space and behavior statusesother than the behavior status regarding books may be roughly classified(for example, moving by train, bus, and vehicle is integrated as“moving”).

FIG. 15 is a view illustrating a first example of recommended groupdisplay in the grouping operation of the user illustrated in FIG. 14. Inthe example of FIG. 15, it is determined that a certain user is suitableto be classified in a group corresponding to a virtual space shaped likea bookstore (“Bookstore” town view) on the basis of the profileinformation 1025. In this case, in the information 1021 of this userdisplayed in the list 1011, text 1033 (“Bookstore”) indicating, forexample, a recommended group or virtual space may be displayed. Further,the user object 1023 corresponding to this user may be changed to anobject 1035 corresponding to this group or virtual space.

As described above with reference to FIG. 14, a recommended group may beexpressed in such a way that display of the virtual space 1013 is notchanged when the user object 1023 displayed in the list 1011 is pressedfor a long time and is moved to the virtual space 1013. In the exampledescribed above, the virtual space 1013 is configured based on theprofile information 1025, behavior patterns, or the like of usersclassified in a group. Therefore, in the case where the user object 1015representing a user different from users who have been alreadyclassified in the group is added to this virtual space 1013, acharacteristic appearing in the profile information 1025, the behaviorpattern, or the like is changed in some cases. For example, in the casewhere a user having a low “Book Score” is added to the virtual space1013 corresponding to a group in which users having a relatively high“Book Score” are classified, an average value of “Book Scores” in thegroup is reduced and the virtual space (“Bookstore” town view) is notmaintained, and therefore the virtual space 1013 becomes an averagevirtual space 1013 in some cases. In the example of FIG. 15, a change inthe virtual space 1013 that may happen in the case where such a new useris added to the group may be displayed as a preview. Herein, no (or alittle) change in the virtual space 1013 means that a user to be newlygrouped and the users of the group have a common characteristic.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating processing of the exampleillustrated in FIG. 15. The following processing can be, for example,processing of the control unit 140 illustrated in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3.First, selection and registration of group members are received (StepS101). The registration herein can be, for example, initial registrationof the group members. In this case, in each group, properties of thegroup members or the virtual space 1013 to be displayed have not beenset yet.

Next, profiles of the registered members are acquired (Step S103). Theprofiles acquired herein are information such as the profile information1025 illustrated in the examples of, for example, FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 andcan be information registered by each user, which is different frombehavior information. Next, a common item of the profiles is extracted(Step S105). Herein, for example, a characteristic, such as a scorevalue having a relatively high, low, or moderate level, is extracted asthe common item among the users. Note that, whether the score is high orlow may be determined, for example, based on a simple average value ormay be determined in consideration of dispersion.

Next, a town view of a group is selected based on the common itemextracted in Step S103 (Step S107). The town view herein is displayed asthe virtual space 1013 in the above description and is, for example, the“Bookstore” town view and the “young & student” town view illustrated inthe examples of FIG. 8 and FIG. 9. By the processing performed so far,setting of the virtual space 1013 corresponding to the group in whichthe members selected and registered in Step S101 are classified iscompleted.

After that, for example, in the case where a user who is not registeredin the group exists among the users displayed in the list 1011, arecommended group is displayed (Step S109). The recommended group can bedisplayed by, for example, the method described above with reference toFIG. 15. The display is not limited to display that is automaticallydisplayed such as the text 1033 and the object 1035, and the display maybe display that is changed in response to predetermined operationperformed by a user, such as presence or absence of a change occurringin the display when the user object 1023 is moved to the virtual space1013.

Next, additional selection and additional registration of a group memberare received (Step S111). The received additional selection andadditional registration herein can be executed by a user who hasreferred to the display of the recommended group in Step S109. However,the user does not necessarily execute the additional selection andadditional registration in accordance with the display of therecommended group and may ignore the display of the recommended groupand execute the additional selection and additional registration.Although not illustrated, processing similar to that of Steps S103 toS107 is executed again after Step S111, and a town view suitable for thegroup after the additional selection and additional registration can beselected. Further, in the case where a user who is not registered in thegroup still exists, the recommended group display similar to that inStep S109 can be executed again.

FIG. 17 is a view illustrating a second example of recommended groupdisplay in the grouping operation of the user illustrated in FIG. 14. Inthe example of FIG. 17, it is determined that a certain user is suitableto be classified in a group corresponding to a virtual space shaped likea bookstore (“Bookstore” town view) on the basis of a behavior patternobtained from a behavior log in the past. In this case, in theinformation 1021 of this user displayed in the list 1011, for example,the text 1033 (“Bookstore”) indicating the recommended group or virtualspace may be displayed. Further, the user object 1023 corresponding tothis user may be changed to an object 1037 showing behavior of the usercorresponding to this group or virtual space. Further, in the same wayas the example of FIG. 15, the recommended group may be expressed insuch a way that display of the virtual space 1013 is not changed whenthe user object 1023 displayed in the list 1011 is pressed for a longtime and is moved to the virtual space 1013.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating processing of the exampleillustrated in FIG. 17. The following processing can be, for example,processing of the control unit 140 illustrated in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3.First, by processing similar to that in Steps S101 to S107 illustratedin FIG. 16, a group in which users are classified and a town viewcorresponding to the group are set (Step S201). Next, behavior patternsof group members are acquired (Step S203). As the behavior patterns, abehavior pattern generated in advance on the basis of a behavior log ofeach member may be acquired or a behavior pattern may be newly generatedbased on the behavior log of each member at this time.

Further, highly correlated behavior among the group members is extractedbased on the behavior patterns of the respective members acquired inStep S203 (Step S205). The “highly correlated behavior” herein may beextracted based on multiple references such as “the same behavior in thesame time period” (for example, as illustrated in the example of FIG.10, reading in the same time period every night), “the same behavior inthe same day (weekday/holiday)” (for example, a user who moves by carfor a long time on weekdays is presumed to use a car for work, and auser who moves by car for a long time on holidays is presumed to use acar at leisure), and “the same behavior having substantially the samelength” (for example, even in the case of users who run every day, 15minutes and 1 hour are different in terms of level) or may be simplyextracted based on common behavior included in life patterns.

Next, the town view is updated in accordance with the behavior extractedin Step S205 (Step S207). The update of the town view herein mayindicate, for example, replacement of the town view with a completelynew town view or indicate addition or change of an object to be arrangedin the virtual space 1013 such as the bus 1027 illustrated in theexample of FIG. 11. In subsequent processing, a recommended group isdisplayed for a user whose group is unregistered (Step S109) andadditional selection and additional registration of a group member arereceived (Step S111) in the same way as the example of FIG. 16.

7. Hardware Configuration

Next, with reference to FIG. 19, a hardware configuration of aninformation processing apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure will be described. FIG. 19 is a block diagram showinga hardware configuration of an information processing apparatus. Aninformation processing apparatus 900 shown in FIG. 19 may achieve theterminal apparatus and the server in the above described embodiments,for example.

The information processing apparatus 900 includes a central processingunit (CPU) 901, read only memory (ROM) 903, and random access memory(RAM) 905. Further, the information processing apparatus 900 may alsoinclude a host bus 907, a bridge 909, an external bus 911, an interface913, an input device 915, an output device 917, a storage device 919, adrive 921, a connection port 923, and a communication device 925.Furthermore, the information processing apparatus 900 may include animaging device 933 and a sensor 935 as necessary. The informationprocessing apparatus 900 may also include, instead of or along with theCPU 901, a processing circuit such as a digital signal processor (DSP).

The CPU 901 functions as an arithmetic processing unit and a controlunit and controls an entire operation or a part of the operation of theinformation processing apparatus 900 according to various programsrecorded in the ROM 903, the RAM 905, the storage device 919, or aremovable recording medium 927. The ROM 903 stores programs andarithmetic parameters used by the CPU 901. The RAM 905 primarily storesprograms used in execution of the CPU 901 and parameters and the likevarying as appropriate during the execution. The CPU 901, the ROM 903,and the RAM 905 are connected to each other via the host bus 907configured from an internal bus such as a CPU bus or the like. Inaddition, the host bus 907 is connected to the external bus 911 such asa peripheral component interconnect/interface (PCI) bus via the bridge909.

The input device 915 is a device operated by a user, such as a mouse, akeyboard, a touch panel, buttons, a switch, and a lever. Also, the inputdevice 915 may be a remote control device using, for example, infraredlight or other radio waves, or may be an external connection device 929such as a cell phone compatible with the operation of the informationprocessing apparatus 900. The input device 915 includes an input controlcircuit that generates an input signal on the basis of information inputby the user and outputs the input signal to the CPU 901. The user inputsvarious kinds of data to the information processing apparatus 900 andinstructs the information processing apparatus 900 to perform aprocessing operation by operating the input device 915.

The output device 917 is configured from a device capable of visually oraurally notifying the user of acquired information. For example, theoutput device 917 may be: a display device such as a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), or an organicelectro-luminescence (EL) display; an audio output device such as aspeaker or headphones; or a printer. The output device 917 outputsresults obtained by the processing performed by the informationprocessing apparatus 900 as video in the form of text or an image or asaudio in the form of audio or sound.

The storage device 919 is a device for storing data configured as anexample of a storage unit of the information processing apparatus 900.The storage device 919 is configured from, for example, a magneticstorage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a semiconductor storagedevice, an optical storage device, or a magneto-optical storage device.This storage device 919 stores programs to be executed by the CPU 901,various data, and various data obtained from the outside.

The drive 921 is a reader/writer for the removable recording medium 927such as a magnetic disk, an optical disc, a magneto-optical disk, or asemiconductor memory, and is built in or externally attached to theinformation processing apparatus 900. The drive 921 reads outinformation recorded on the attached removable recording medium 927, andoutputs the information to the RAM 905. Further, the drive 921 writesthe record on the attached removable recording medium 927.

The connection port 923 is a port for allowing devices to directlyconnect to the information processing apparatus 900. Examples of theconnection port 923 include a universal serial bus (USB) port, anIEEE1394 port, and a small computer system interface (SCSI) port. Otherexamples of the connection port 923 may include an RS-232C port, anoptical audio terminal, and a high-definition multimedia interface(HDMI) port. The connection of the external connection device 929 to theconnection port 923 may enable the various data exchange between theinformation processing apparatus 900 and the external connection device929.

The communication device 925 is a communication interface configuredfrom, for example, a communication device for establishing a connectionto a communication network 931. The communication device 925 is, forexample, a wired or wireless local area network (LAN), Bluetooth(registered trademark), a communication card for wireless USB (WUSB), orthe like. Alternatively, the communication device 925 may be a routerfor optical communication, a router for asymmetric digital subscriberline (ADSL), a modem for various communications, or the like. Thecommunication device 925 can transmit and receive signals and the likeusing a certain protocol such as TCP/IP on the Internet and with othercommunication devices, for example. The communication network 931connected to the communication device 925 is configured from a networkwhich is connected via wire or wirelessly and is, for example, theInternet, a home-use LAN, infrared communication, radio wavecommunication, and satellite communication.

The imaging device 933 is a device which images a real space by use ofvarious members including an image sensor such as a charge coupleddevice (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) and alens for controlling image formation of a subject on the image sensor,and generates a pickup image. The imaging device 933 may image a stillimage or a moving image.

The sensor 935 is any of various sensors such as an acceleration sensor,a gyro sensor, a magnetic field sensor, an optical sensor, a soundsensor, and a pressure sensor. For example, the sensor 935 acquiresinformation related to the state of the information processing apparatus900 itself, such as the posture of the housing of the informationprocessing apparatus 900, or information related to the peripheralenvironment of the information processing apparatus 900, such as thebrightness or noise around the information processing apparatus 900.Further, the sensor 935 may include a global positioning system (GPS)sensor which measures the latitude, the longitude, and the altitude ofthe apparatus by receiving a GPS signal.

Heretofore, an example of the hardware configuration of the informationprocessing apparatus 900 has been shown. Each of the structural elementsdescribed above may be configured using a general-purpose material, ormay be configured from hardware dedicated to the function of eachstructural element. The configuration may be changed as appropriateaccording to the technical level at the time of carrying outembodiments.

8. Supplement

The embodiments of the present disclosure may include the informationprocessing apparatus (a terminal apparatus or a server), the system, theinformation processing method executed in the information processingapparatus or the system, the program for causing the informationprocessing apparatus to function, and the non-transitory tangible mediahaving the program recorded thereon, which have been described above,for example.

The preferred embodiment(s) of the present disclosure has/have beendescribed above with reference to the accompanying drawings, whilst thepresent disclosure is not limited to the above examples, of course. Aperson skilled in the art may find various alterations and modificationswithin the scope of the appended claims, and it should be understoodthat they will naturally come under the technical scope of the presentdisclosure.

Additionally, the present technology may also be configured as below.

(1)

An information processing apparatus including:

a first information acquisition unit configured to acquire firstinformation indicating behavior of at least one user;

a second information acquisition unit configured to acquire secondinformation on the at least one user, the second information beingdifferent from the first information; and

a display control unit configured to display, in a display unit, a userobject which is configured based on the first information and representsthe corresponding at least one user and a virtual space which isconfigured based on the second information and in which the user objectare arranged.

(2)

The information processing apparatus according to (1),

wherein the display control unit combines the second information on theat least one user to set the virtual space that is common to the userobject representing the corresponding at least one user.

(3)

The information processing apparatus according to (2),

wherein the second information acquisition unit acquires the secondinformation obtained by performing statistical processing on theinformation indicating the behavior of the at least one user.

(4)

The information processing apparatus according to (3),

wherein the second information acquisition unit acquires the secondinformation indicating a behavior pattern of the at least one user.

(5)

The information processing apparatus according to (4),

wherein the display control unit changes a part or all of the virtualspace with time on the basis of the behavior pattern.

(6)

The information processing apparatus according to any one of (2) to (5),

wherein the second information acquisition unit acquires the secondinformation indicating an attribute of the at least one user.

(7)

The information processing apparatus according to (6),

wherein the second information acquisition unit acquires the secondinformation generated based on age, an occupation, or a product purchasehistory of the at least one user.

(8)

The information processing apparatus according to any one of (1) to (7),

wherein the display control unit configures the virtual space for eachgroup in which the at least one user is classified and arranges the userobject in the virtual space corresponding to a group in which each useris classified.

(9)

The information processing apparatus according to (8),

wherein, regarding a user who is not classified in the group, thedisplay control unit displays, in the display unit, text or an imageshowing a group to which the user is recommended to be classified.

(10)

The information processing apparatus according to (8) or (9),

wherein, regarding a user who is not classified in the group, bydisplaying, as a preview, a change in the virtual space occurring in acase where the user is arranged in the virtual space, the displaycontrol unit indicates whether or not a group corresponding to thevirtual space is a group to which the user who is not classified in thegroup is recommended to be classified.

(11)

The information processing apparatus according to any one of (1) to(10),

wherein the display control unit shows, by use of display of the userobject, a behavior status obtained by classifying the behavior of eachuser on the basis of a predetermined reference.

(12)

The information processing apparatus according to (11),

wherein the display control unit shows the behavior status of each userby using a shape or a motion of the user object.

(13)

The information processing apparatus according to (11) or (12),

wherein the display control unit arranges a container objectcorresponding to the behavior status in the virtual space and shows thebehavior status of each user by displaying the user object in thecontainer object.

(14)

The information processing apparatus according to (13),

wherein the display control unit displays the container object on thebasis of a behavior pattern of the at least one user.

(15)

The information processing apparatus according to (14),

wherein the display control unit displays the container object,regardless of whether or not the at least one user performs behavior inaccordance with the behavior pattern.

(16)

The information processing apparatus according to any one of (13) to(15),

wherein the display control unit changes a number or a size of thecontainer objects in accordance with a number of users having behaviorstatuses corresponding to the container object.

(17)

The information processing apparatus according to any one of (11) to(16),

wherein the display control unit changes the reference for classifyingthe behavior status depending on the virtual space.

(18)

A system including:

a terminal apparatus; and

one or more server devices configured to provide a service to theterminal apparatus,

wherein the system provides, by cooperating the terminal apparatus withthe one or more server devices,

a function for acquiring first information indicating behavior of atleast one user,

a function for acquiring second information on the at least one user,the second information being different from the first information, and

a function for displaying, in a display unit, a user object which isconfigured based on the first information and represents thecorresponding at least one user, and a virtual space which is configuredbased on the second information and in which the user object isarranged.

(19)

An information processing method including:

acquiring first information indicating behavior of at least one user;

acquiring second information on the at least one user, the secondinformation being different from the first information; and

displaying, in a display unit, a user object which is configured basedon the first information and represents the corresponding at least oneuser, and a virtual space which is configured based on the secondinformation and in which the user object is arranged.

(20)

A program causing a computer to realize

a function for acquiring first information indicating behavior of atleast one user,

a function for acquiring second information on the at least one user,the second information being different from the first information, and

a function for displaying, in a display unit, a user object which isconfigured based on the first information and represents thecorresponding at least one user, and a virtual space which is configuredbased on the second information and in which the user object isarranged.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   -   10, 30, 50 system    -   100, 300, 500 terminal apparatus    -   200, 400, 600 server    -   110 sensor    -   120 behavior recognition unit    -   130, 530 communication unit    -   140 control unit    -   150 UI

1. An information processing apparatus comprising: a first informationacquisition unit configured to acquire first information indicatingbehavior of at least one user; a second information acquisition unitconfigured to acquire second information on the at least one user, thesecond information being different from the first information; and adisplay control unit configured to display, in a display unit, a userobject which is configured based on the first information and representsthe corresponding at least one user and a virtual space which isconfigured based on the second information and in which the user objectare arranged.
 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim1, wherein the display control unit combines the second information onthe at least one user to set the virtual space that is common to theuser object representing the corresponding at least one user.
 3. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein thesecond information acquisition unit acquires the second informationobtained by performing statistical processing on the informationindicating the behavior of the at least one user.
 4. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the secondinformation acquisition unit acquires the second information indicatinga behavior pattern of the at least one user.
 5. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the display controlunit changes a part or all of the virtual space with time on the basisof the behavior pattern.
 6. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 2, wherein the second information acquisition unitacquires the second information indicating an attribute of the at leastone user.
 7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6,wherein the second information acquisition unit acquires the secondinformation generated based on age, an occupation, or a product purchasehistory of the at least one user.
 8. The information processingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unitconfigures the virtual space for each group in which the at least oneuser is classified and arranges the user object in the virtual spacecorresponding to a group in which each user is classified.
 9. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein,regarding a user who is not classified in the group, the display controlunit displays, in the display unit, text or an image showing a group towhich the user is recommended to be classified.
 10. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein, regarding a user whois not classified in the group, by displaying, as a preview, a change inthe virtual space occurring in a case where the user is arranged in thevirtual space, the display control unit indicates whether or not a groupcorresponding to the virtual space is a group to which the user who isnot classified in the group is recommended to be classified.
 11. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thedisplay control unit shows, by use of display of the user object, abehavior status obtained by classifying the behavior of each user on thebasis of a predetermined reference.
 12. The information processingapparatus according to claim 11, wherein the display control unit showsthe behavior status of each user by using a shape or a motion of theuser object.
 13. The information processing apparatus according to claim11, wherein the display control unit arranges a container objectcorresponding to the behavior status in the virtual space and shows thebehavior status of each user by displaying the user object in thecontainer object.
 14. The information processing apparatus according toclaim 13, wherein the display control unit displays the container objecton the basis of a behavior pattern of the at least one user.
 15. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein thedisplay control unit displays the container object, regardless ofwhether or not the at least one user performs behavior in accordancewith the behavior pattern.
 16. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 13, wherein the display control unit changes a numberor a size of the container objects in accordance with a number of usershaving behavior statuses corresponding to the container object.
 17. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein thedisplay control unit changes the reference for classifying the behaviorof each user depending on the virtual space.
 18. A system comprising: aterminal apparatus; and one or more server devices configured to providea service to the terminal apparatus, wherein the system provides, bycooperating the terminal apparatus with the one or more server devices,a function for acquiring first information indicating behavior of atleast one user, a function for acquiring second information on the atleast one user, the second information being different from the firstinformation, and a function for displaying, in a display unit, a userobject which is configured based on the first information and representsthe corresponding at least one user, and a virtual space which isconfigured based on the second information and in which the user objectis arranged.
 19. An information processing method comprising: acquiringfirst information indicating behavior of at least one user; acquiringsecond information on the at least one user, the second informationbeing different from the first information; and displaying, in a displayunit, a user object which is configured based on the first informationand represents the corresponding at least one user, and a virtual spacewhich is configured based on the second information and in which theuser object is arranged.
 20. A program causing a computer to realize afunction for acquiring first information indicating behavior of at leastone user, a function for acquiring second information on the at leastone user, the second information being different from the firstinformation, and a function for displaying, in a display unit, a userobject which is configured based on the first information and representsthe corresponding at least one user, and a virtual space which isconfigured based on the second information and in which the user objectis arranged.